I want to have close relationships with my children and grandchildren.

I want to be a speaker at Christian women’s events.

I want to have a clean organized home.

I want to enjoy time with my husband.

I want to encourage my friends.

I want to rest.

And so on and so on…..

When I look at my complete list of what I want to do (and no, the list above is not a complete list), it doesn’t take me long to figure out I can’t do everything I want to do. If I did everything, there is no way I would ever feel rested and I want that, too. LOL

I am in a time of transition. It is causing me to redefine my priorities and expectations. It is causing me to let go of some things and reach for new things. It is unsettling and exciting at the same time.

Life constantly changes. If we are not intentionally mindful, we end up being carried along with the rushing flow of life – doing way too much and being unsure of where we are even going.

Let me encourage you to take time for reflection. Are you directing your days or are the days directing you? Better yet, are you allowing God to direct your days?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

I started playing the piano in third grade and fell in love with it. It was soul-satisfying. It became part of me. As opportunities came my way, playing the piano became my God-given ministry. It was a way I loved God and gave of myself to encourage others to love God. I felt God’s pleasure as I played.

But then God took it away. I was bereft.

Seven years later, I still don’t understand why God allowed this to happen. It has been a long difficult journey for me as I have grieved this loss and come to accept it as from the hand of God. But God has been with me every step of the journey. And because of the journey, I am more in love with God today than I ever have been. I enjoy Him more deeply. Perhaps this alone is reason enough.

If you are grieving, seek refuge under the wings of God Almighty. He will love you through your grief. Ruth 2:12 Do not lose hope. God is with you. God is for you. Nothing can separate you from His love. Romans 8:31-39

We cannot see the end of our journey but we can see the end of Naomi’s journey. God gave Naomi a son. Ruth 4:17 He may give me another opportunity to play the piano for His glory and only He knows what He has planned for you!

Men hunger for respect like women hunger for love. But what exactly is respect? I’ve been married 40 years and I’m still trying to figure it out.

I asked my husband, Dan, and both of my sons to explain respect to me. I kid you not, they all had the same instantaneous answer, “Just do what I tell you.” They all chuckled a little as they said it. I don’t know if that is because they were embarrassed by the candor of it or they were partly joking about it. Either way, I wasn’t crazy about their response.

God gave us a great behavioral definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13. It explains how love acts and does not act. It’s fairly easy to check our behavior against that list to see how we are doing.

But nowhere in the Bible is there a great behavioral definition of respect. It simply states that wives are to respect their own husbands. So what does respect look like? How does it behave? What does it do? What doesn’t it do?

One thing I am sure of is that men sometimes view respect differently than women. More than once Dan has felt disrespected by something I said or did when I actually had no disrespect in my heart at all. Talk about frustrating!

Learning how to respect our husband is definitely a life-time learning process. It involves taking the time to see life from our husband’s point of view. What matters to our husband needs to matter to us. When your husband feels disrespected and you have no idea why, grab the opportunity to learn more about your man.

After all, I’m pretty sure eye-rolling, sighs and stomping out of a room aren’t respectful! LOL

If you’ve never read it, I recommend the book Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.

My friend gave me and my husband some special chocolate with crushed pretzels in it. She gave it to us in December and I saved it. But when my husband started eating it, I wasn’t about to let him get ahead of me. So we ate it last week and it was delightful!

My husband bought me a pair of Uggs for my birthday early in December. They make me feel rich. I still have yet to wear them outside.

I don’t save ordinary every day things.

But special things are another story. I saved our chocolate because I knew that once we ate it, it would be gone. I haven’t worn my Uggs because I don’t want to get them dirty. I want them to stay like new.

But the best thing being saved for me is not what I am saving! It is what God is saving for me!

It is my inheritance in Christ! It can never be depleted. It will never be ruined. It will never get dirty. It will never fade. It will always be like new, full of God’s glory! I Peter 1 :4

And perhaps even more importantly, God is protecting me by His power until I reach heaven. He will see to it that I receive my inheritance in Him! I Peter 1:5

And that is just one reason why I love Him, believe in Him and rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory! I Peter 1:8

Being a third person in a conversation often provides a unique opportunity for building. A friend calls to talk because she has been hurt by someone else you both know. How will you respond? Will you help build a bridge or help construct a wall?

Paul helped build a bridge between Philemon and Onesimus. Onesimus, a run away slave, had clearly wronged Philemon, his master. Yet, Paul stepped in to help the two reconcile.

Building a bridge:

Reconciliation acknowledges the problem.

Reconciliation offers a solution.

Reconciliation involves forgiveness.

Reconciliation involves being willing to change your mind about someone.

Reconciliation is a choice.

Building a wall:

Separation replays the problem.

Separation offers no solution.

Separation refuses to forgive.

Separation permanently nails the offense to the other person.

Separation is a choice.

God chose reconciliation. He built a bridge between Himself and you. That bridge is Christ.

I want more for my friend than she wants for herself. I want her to be happy. I want her to be all that God designed her to be. I want her to live an abundant joy-filled life.

But her own choices are preventing her from becoming all that God hopes for her to be.

Why can’t she see that God’s plan is always the best?

Why can’t she see that His plan is not some religious mandate to be obeyed just for the sake of obedience but that His plan is the way for her to have richness of life?

And then I think about my own life… Why do I sometimes refuse to do life God’s way? Why can’t I see that God’s plan is always the best for me?

The answer is the same for all of us. In these situations, we think we know more than God. We think we know best.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

If you want your best life, ask yourself these four questions:

Am I being deceived by sin and my own fleshly desires?

Am I being proud, stubborn and self-willed?

Do I believe God really knows what is best for me?

Am I willing to do life God’s way?

Trust Him and choose wisely!

Become rooted and grounded in His love and watch Him do abundantly above all you can ask or even think in your own life! Ephesians 3